JOCO Cups

Images from jococups.com

It's amazing how many cool things I find while doing research for projects...even though 98% of the time they have no connection to what I was looking for in the first place. I found a company located in Australia, called JOCO, which sells reusable (and stylish) glass coffee cups. Their tagline is Cups that Care! Clear Cups with a Clear Conscience. I just love that. I don't buy hot drinks often, I'm a brew-your-own kind of person, but I would definitely buy one of these all the same. I also love their packaging. The stylish cups come in a stylish cylindrical box that is reusable. I'll have to see if there are any Canadian retailers selling these.

Print vs. E-Waste

E-Waste is a relatively new term to me, not because I'm not familiar with electronic waste, but because it's a topic that is rarely talked about, and because I've never heard it be referred to in its short-form. You often hear the discussion about how wasteful printed materials are, and how outmoded they are becoming, but you never hear about how wasteful the world of electronics is, which is very surprising because of how many electronic devices are available now. Print and electronics both have their uses and benefits, as well as their drawbacks, but is one really any better than the other?

I did some research and came across a website treehugger.com which has a really neat infographic about e-waste that summarizes what I've read on other websites, but with pictures. Check it out here. They also have multiple articles about the ongoing debate between books and e-readers. See one of them here, which discusses whether e-books are really more "green" than their printed counterparts.

Here are summaries of what I've found and some of my thoughts on the issue:

• Electronics and printed materials both have negative impacts on the environment. 
• There should be a balance between the two. We need to cutback on unnecessary paper uses, either by getting rid of them altogether, or by moving things into the electronic age. I'm thinking specifically of mail flyers, bank statements and manuals for electronics.
• Paper use is not going anywhere, so we should start exploring the mass production of more sustainable types of paper, like bamboo paper, sugarcane paper and rock paper, and make a greater effort to only purchase paper that is FSC-certified (Forest Stewardship Council)
• We shouldn't be condemning the use of paper because it has many benefits that electronics will never be able to match or replace:
• A lot of paper can be made with the use of 100% recycled materials.
• Paper is a lot easier to recycle, both in terms of the consumer getting rid of it, and the actual recycling process.
• Paper can be composted and breaks down naturally - depending on the amount of ink and what kind of inks were used on it.
• Paper is more easily reused.
• Paper lasts far longer than any electronic ever will. Human's have been writing things down since the beginning of time, and we will always need to have hard copies of records and important documents.
• Electronics are very useful and should be used more often to help streamline businesses, but there is, again, the need for hard copies.
• Electronics have VERY short life spans and are replaced on a regular basis. Think of the number of cell phones, music players, tablets, and TV's, just to name a few, the average person is likely to go through in a lifetime.
• Many electronics contain toxic materials and valuable resources that wind up in landfills.

Print and electronics are both important parts of our lives, and both have a right to be there, but since they both have different uses and benefits, we need to learn how to use both to their best abilities and figure out what would be best for any given circumstance. But regardless of whether you lean toward one of the other, both can be incredibly wasteful, and we need to start taking more responsibility for the resources that we consume.

The Art of Cleanup

Created by Ursus Wehrli.
Photos from http://www.jeanniejeannie.com/2011/08/29/the-art-of-clean-up-sorting-and-stacking-everyday-objects/

StumbleUpon has once again helped me find something neat to blog about. The Art of Cleanup is a series of photographs by Swiss artist and comedian Ursus Wehrli for an upcoming book. There is a whole series of these organizational photos on the website I listed under the images. They are amazing, and I can imagine would be appreciated by anyone with an obsessive compulsive need to keep things neat and organized. He "organizes" different food dishes, cars in a parking lot, people at a pool, and even famous paintings!

School Work Overload

Today was not a good day, not only for me but for quite a few of my classmates as well. Weeks of non-stop work coupled with the short, cold winter days has rendered many of us tired, creatively drained and in desperate need of a break. It's true that we've only been back in school for a month now, but it has been an intense month. I really don't understand why we're given quite so much work. I know that in the professional world, if we end up at a design firm or go free-lance, that we'll be expected to juggle 8-9 projects at any given time, and will have to work odd hours, but that isn't the established norm, and even if it is for some companies, this whole workaholic lifestyle - never having free time or the ability to have hobbies or a social life isn't healthy for anyone, and really shouldn't be getting promoted, especially not by teachers.

I feel so drained right now, and can't afford to be. I have 8 major projects on the go. I do my best to time manage, but there just aren't enough hours in the day. I set deadlines for myself and work long hours - especially on weekends, and I still can't keep up. So many of the projects we're working on require a constant flow of creativity and detailed work that can't be rushed. I just don't get it. I like the projects we're working on, but there is just too much of them all at once in a never-ending stream.

It's at times like this that I begin to question my suitability, not only for the design industry, but for this program as well. Yet, if someone who works as hard as I do can't keep up with the coursework,  then surely there is something wrong with the way things are being handled. I understand that they're trying to prepare us for the work-world, but pushing people into creative blackouts and stress-induced fits of hysteria is not going to accomplish anything. The saying "quantity versus quality" exists for a reason. Yes, you need to find the delicate balance between the two, but that is going to be different for every individual, and I can tell you right now, I am not doing my best design work

Typographic Art

I recently discovered the letterer/illustrator Jessica Hische. Visit her site: jessicahische.is/awesome. I discovered her as I was looking for the designer of the cover of Pride and Prejudice, found a few posts below. A lot of her work is retro and whimsical, so it's the kind of stuff that I love. Here are some examples of her work:

Typography and poster/page design are not things I'm very good at, so I have a real respect for people who are able to produce such amazing designs with only letters.

Acrylic Painting Process

In illustration class we're working on illustrated books of poetry. I chose the poem Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe, read it here, and I chose to use acrylic paint to tell the story. It's 12 spreads long, and I have documented my progress during the first one to show you how I approach projects like this one. (The images aren't great quality, but it will give you the idea.)

This is the text that will go in this spread:

It was many and many a year ago,

   In a kingdom by the sea,

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

   By the name of Annabel Lee;

After deciding on my size, 8" by 6" pages / 6" by 16" spreads, I cut my paper, making sure to leave an extra 1/4" on all sides for a bleed so that when I scan the images in and crop them, I can be sure that there is paint all the way to the edges.

Then comes the paint!

Step 1

I paint a base coat in solid colours. This will be a seaside panel so I roughed out where the sky, water and hillside will go.

Step 2

I add lighter green paint to the hills in the foreground, this time using different shades to mimic grass and give it depth.

Step 3

I add several shades of blue to the sky, paint clouds and add texture to the hillside to show the ridges and where the sunlight will hit the various valleys. I even add some smaller landmasses emerging from the water along the coast.

Step 4

I paint the water a darker blue and add waves that become more apparent closer to shore.




Step 5

Now that the landscape is done, it's time to add in the extra bits. This is going to be "the kingdom by the sea." So, I paint a light, rough base coat of where I want it to go.

Step 6

Then I add rough outlines with grey paint so I know what's going to be what in this beige mass of buildings.

Step 7

The buildings, walls and towers get filled in. I added shading in areas to give it more dimension.

Step 8

I make some minor adjustments to correct things (the biggest tower was a bit crooked), then add trees and other foliage to help it blend into the surroundings more.

Step 9

Now for the two children. I add another light base coat where I want them. You can see where I had originally placed them...more to the right, but I realized it was too close to the edge of the page. That's the nice thing about acrylic, it's easy to fix mistakes.

Step 10

I add basic colours to the kids and finalize how their bodies are positioned.

Step 11

More detail is added, like shading to their clothes, hair and limbs. But you can still see on the right side where I had them sitting originally. I'll fix that in the next step.

Step 12

I finalize their clothes then add the grass to the foreground, blending the kids into the scene.

Then it's done! The only thing I did after painting was add some more highlights to the trees around the castle with pencil crayon, and some texture to the walls of the castle. Then I scanned it and cropped it to size. All it's missing is the text, which will sit in the sky, just to the right of the center-fold.

This first spread is one of the most detailed, and took me upwards of seven hours to complete - mind you I'm not the fastest painter. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out. There's more I could have done, but I ran out of time and had to move on to the rest. Here's hoping that I can keep up my momentum!

Dream House Features

I love browsing on Pinterest, and I've recently begun looking at user's pages about architecture, dream houses, interesting doors and walkways...etc, all to develop my vision of my dream house. Here are just a few of the architectural features and other goodies I'd love to have:

A large, window-side reading nook with a privacy curtain to enjoy afternoons snuggled up with a good book.

Image from: http://indulgy.com/post/REGXSTof91/alcove

Secret passages...especially ones that lead to secret rooms full of books.

Image from: http://bookriot.com/2012/12/19/10-drool-worthy-secret-passage-bookshelves/?doing_wp_cron=1359748299.9662649631500244140625

Designed by Gast Architects

Intricate iron gates.

Image from: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=charleston+sc+wrought+iron&view=detail&id=EE5DA0F90909C81A2EB493C8735CB95BDE8D08CE&first=0&FORM=IDFRIR

Old world verging on fairytale-like charm.

Image from: http://www.mostbeautifulpages.com/2013/01/in-princes-street-gardens-edinburgh.html

A plant filled courtyard with a fountain.

Image from: http://www.bnbfinder.com/District-of-Columbia/Washington/Bed-and-Breakfast/PhotoGallery/15002/Aaron_Shipman_House

Ivy covered stone walls.

Image from: http://curatedstyle.tumblr.com/